Bathing, which has various effects, for example, making our bodies clean, warming not only the limbs but also the whole body to the bones, and physically and mentally relaxing us, is essential to our daily lives.
On the other hand, it is frequently observed that bathing removes oily components from one's skin and thus impart a dryness to the skin after bathing, particularly in winter. In order to suppress the dryness, therefore, it has been attempted to apply, for example, a lotion or a cream to the skin after bathing. However the application of a lotion or a cream requires some time and care in the application. Further, it is difficult for, in particular, aged people to apply these cosmetics over the whole body.
In order to overcome these problems, there have been developed bathing compositions containing oily component(s) and humectant(s). The use of such bathing compositions enables us to care for the skin over the whole body during bathing and thus makes it unnecessary to apply a lotion or a cream after bathing.
Oily components such as oils are effective in suppressing the dryness of the skin after bathing. An example of bathing compositions containing oily components is a so-called oil-bath, wherein oily components float on the bath water. When the employed bathing composition contains a sufficient amount of oily components for suppressing the dryness of the skin, however, these oily components adhere to the skin and impart a sticky feel. In addition, such bathing composition tends to stain the bathtub. Furthermore, the floating oily components offend the eyes.
In order to overcome these problems, a bathing composition wherein oily components are self-emulsified has been proposed (see, e.g., JP-A-61-176520 and JP-A-61-227519 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese Patent Application")).
However bathing compositions wherein oily components are emulsified as above are still unsatisfactory from the viewpoints of the moist feel of the skin after bathing and the smooth feel thereof during and after bathing. Furthermore, a sufficient moistening effect cannot be achieved thereby.